Sunday, December 21, 2008

Find 10 Things Wrong ...

It was a game page in Highlights for Children: Find 10 Things Wrong With This Picture. Maybe that's what those fun-loving Charlotte Sun editors have in mind. Here's three to get you started on today's paper:

Front page: A reprint from Fort Myers News-Press (implying that two copy desks read it? ) reports a stolen elf from a holiday lawn display. The mock drama of the mini-featurette is lost the moment the writer reports the scene was "grizzly." That's supposed to be grisly.

At the national roundup page: An event in Dale City, Prince William County (Virginia), is placed under a Washington, D.C., header. Even a sleepy copy editor should instantly recognize that D.C. doesn't have counties.

The rest of the 10 Things Wrong are scattered throughout the paper in all the usual spots: cutlines, overlines, the home-grown editorial, and in-house ads. Happy hunting!